Nestlé’s BabyNes: Nespresso Baby Formula for the Wealthy with Contaminated Water

I can’t say I really understand the single serve coffee craze. The disposable K-cups are certainly not eco-friendly, and my [amazon_link id=”B00018TMIM” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]stovetop espresso[/amazon_link] machine does a great job of making my one latte a day. Perhaps my judgement is unfair, as I have only had one cup of coffee made from one of these [amazon_link id=”B00457KDRE” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Nespresso[/amazon_link] machines in a hotel room, and it was damn good; however, if it’s made by Nestlé, I have to boycott.

Nestle’s single serve coffee is “the fastest growing of Nestlé’s billionaire brands–increased 20% to 3.2 billion Swiss francs ($3.55 billion) in 2010,” according to Fox Business. The company is hoping to transfer this success to its formula business with its new invention: BabyNes single serve formula.

BabyNes is the world’s first comprehensive nutrition system for infants and toddlers, and is based on Nestlé’s latest scientific achievements in baby nutrition and systems technology. With BabyNes, Nestlé builds on its unmatched expertise in baby nutrition gained over 145 years since the invention of Farine Lactée by Henri Nestlé.

Nestlé supports exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of an infant’s life, in line with World Health Organisation (WHO) recommendations, and continued breastfeeding thereafter for as long as possible. For babies who are not breastfed, Nestlé provides high-quality breast milk substitutes, such as BabyNes.

BabyNes offers single-serve formulas for infants and young children up to the age of three years. The composition of the six consecutive formulas meets the evolving nutritional needs in the first three years of life: four formulas in the first year, and one formula for each of the following two years…

The single-serve portions are sealed in capsules, used in the proprietary BabyNes machine, which recognises each capsule and prepares the bottle with precisely the right dosage and temperature, at the push of a button, in less than one minute.

And so the controversy begins…

This product is being introduced in Switzerland first with a hefty price tag. The machine costs $295, and the formula capsules are four times the cost of the coffee ones. Nestlé is already accused of unhealthy marketing tactics regarding its formula, promoting it in third world countries as a glamourous first world product. How will BabyNes be received by Nestlé critics?

“This toy for the rich is putting across the idea that parents can trust a machine to meet the needs of their babies,” Patti Rundall of Baby Milk Action, told swissinfo.ch…

But the 1970s saw a scandal erupt around the formula following its sale in developing countries. Infant deaths were blamed on contaminated water being mixed with the powder while Nestlé was accused of encouraging mothers to stop breastfeeding with aggressive marketing practices…

The WHO intervened in 1981 to put guidelines into place that prohibited direct marketing in developing markets while many countries implemented their own legislation.

“This press release was picked up by the world’s media and I have seen articles from many countries,” she said. “This is not just a consumer product like a coffee machine and information should be passed on via health care experts.”

Nestlé is targeted with the boycott because monitoring conducted by the International Baby Food Action Network (IBFAN) finds it to be responsible for more violations of the World Health Assembly marketing requirements for baby foods than any other company (see the codewatch section for profiles of the different companies to target their malpractice).

As UNICEF has said:

“Marketing practices that undermine breastfeeding are potentially hazardous wherever they are pursued: in the developing world, WHO estimates that some 1.5 million children die each year because they are not adequately breastfed. These facts are not in dispute.”

There is nothing more convenient than breastfeeding, and it is much more affordable than BabyNes. Breastmilk comes out of the mother’s body at the perfect temperature in perfect nutritional balance.

Martin Grieder, director of BabyNes, said: “We think this could be as successful as Nespresso. That was a major innovation in the coffee market and changed the way people drink coffee.

“This is a major innovation in the way you feed a baby. This is a game changer.”

Why would Nestlé need a game changer in the way baby’s are fed? This statement alone is enough to cause concern and renew interest in boycotting the company.

We don’t need innovation when it comes to feeding babies.

“During the previous scandal, the lifestyle message [feeding with baby formula] came from developed markets to developing ones,” spokeswoman Andrea Hüsser told swissinfo.ch.

“The current trend is manipulating young mothers into believing infant feeding is a lifestyle event like drinking Nespresso.”

Nestlé claims a filtration system in the BabyNes machine has tackled the problem of contaminated water being used to mix the powder. “The use of boiled water is therefore not required,” the company stated.

That last statement is simply ludicrous, considering the price tag and power needs of BabyNes. Seriously, families living in poverty will not be getting this machine at baby showers, nor be able to buy the formula capsules. In fact, Nestlé has stated that most of the profits will come from formula capsule sales. The only women using this product will be living in conditions where water contamination is not an issue. Get real Nestlé!

Comments

I agree totally – I don’t get the single serve coffee either – I first saw one at my sister-in-laws house and my first thought was “how wasteful” – the same goes with the BabyNes – we need an eco law 🙂

Theirs might be based on “scientific acheivement,s” but it can’t replace breastfeeding, since breastfeeding is not only nutrients for growth and development, but even more about prevention and fighting infection and inflammation.

The Swiss can have it. Besides all the pollution of the containers, etc., most of the rest of the world could never afford this and wouldn’t want to anyway.

It’s possible Nestle is considering orphanage situations with the filter, They have long polished their corporate halo with formula donations to 3rd world orphanages. They may be considering using this as well?

New moms everywhere need to be supported and encouraged to breastfeed and understand that it is absolutely superior to anything else for their baby. Don’t those in health care have a duty to promote breastfeeding?

All excellent points. Glad to see the discussion of illicit marketing by Nestle and others. Regarding their offensive product of late, the Nespresso formula maker : it has a major flaw that I have not seen addressed. That being the issue of hot water in contact with plastic chambers, and plastic tubing. If you are aware of the unbelievably high levels of endocrine disrupting chemicals already present in formula, combine this now with the same awful chemicals leaching from the plastic in this formula machine into the liquid the baby consumes.

Whenever I stay in a hotel with one of these plastic contaminated g-d-awful espresso contraptions I always ask for it to be immediately replaced with a tea kettle or regular coffee pot. I also explain my concern about the plastic and hot water issue to management. Most people simply do not think about these things, and are actually open to hearing about them. Endocrine disrupting chemicals are lined to cancers, and other serious health consequences.

It would be great to have the chemicals that are leaching into the formula from the Nespresso assessed by an independent lab. Since the formula comes with it, just test the end product. I am sure the levels of potentially lethal carcinogenic chemicals are way too high for anyone with a brain to consider safe for their baby. Surely if it was published public information it would give pause to the potential buyers of this gadget.

I’ve done my best to boycott Nestle’s since the early 70’s based solely on their dicey practices. I remember that they would send women dressed as nurses to remote third world villages to convince mothers that their formula was superior to any other method of feeding. Of course, the problem was that the mothers were unable to afford the powdered formula, and IF they had water to mix it with, it was usually contaminated. I wonder how many infants died as a result and how many mothers lived in agony of the loss of their babies, or, at the very least, lived with guilt that they had only their own milk to rely upon.

The current problem is that Nestle is a global giant and it is almost impossible to boycott their products. I invite anyone to find a list of what they manufacture and own, it is astounding.

If boycotting is not working, perhaps we need to keep the facts circulating with parents on blogs, facebook, twitter, or any other site we can utilize.

I disagree. Not always is possible to breastfeed. I am having twins and can’t breastfeed, due to medical reasons. The only way to feed my babies will be through formula, and I am very happy that companies like Nestle have a healthy and suitable solution for a situation otherwise unbearable. The added value to the machine, is that filters the water, so no boiling is needed, the bottle will come at the right mix, texture and temperature in less than a minute. Knowing that I will have 2 babies hungry I find it extremely convenient. I am not rich, but I will gladly pay the premium to keep my babies content.

I have to say of all the things I have read I am most offended by the women who talk of nothing but breastfeeding. Some cannot because of medical reasons and others have their own personal choices. Either way to breastfeed or not to breastfeed is a very personal choice and NO ONE should be judged because of their choice either way.

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